In this session, we will provide an overview of important workforce issues and examine practical solutions and strategies for addressing them. From recruitment and retention to training and development, we'll cover the essential elements of building and maintaining an effective and engaged workforce.

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2. A comprehensive overview of workforce matters
Mo Baines, APSE Chief Executive, Visiting Professor,
Staffordshire University
Empowering Local Government
Frontline Services
www.apse.org.uk

3. The small print
• Survey carried out over a shorter period – 4 weeks
• Samples across all services
• Relative samples from APSE’s six administrative / regional areas
(Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the England areas of Northern,
Central and Southern)
• Comparators drawn where questions unchanged from previous surveys
www.apse.org.uk

4. Q1: Do you suffer from recruitment difficulties in any of the following areas
of work?

5. Specific areas of concern 20+ comments
Planning
Leisure instructors / lifeguards
School cooks
Drivers – across all services
Environmental health and trading standards
Cost of training new staff

6. Q2: Have you introduced any schemes to improve recruitment?

7. Comments on improving recruitment
Linked to Rugby Club
for fitness staff
Apprentice
programme
Amending
requirements to
replace with training /
aptitude
Converting loaders to drivers
with training schemes
Job evaluation
– exploring if
rates are still
appropriate
Agency /
partnerships

8. Q3: Thinking about retention of staff how would you best describe your
experiences?

9. Q4: Have you made any interventions to support staff retention?

10. Comments on interventions to support staff retention?
❑ Cost of living payments
❑ Staff wellbeing
❑ Promoting the wider benefits – pay, pensions, ill-health protections
❑ Call for internal promotions rather than external recruitment to
motivate staff with opportunities

11. Q5: Has Brexit impacted on recruitment and retention issues?

12. Q6: Equal Pay is making a return to the headlines once again. What do you
consider your equal pay risk to be?

13. Equal Pay comments…..
❑Overarching perception that ‘corporate’ level is masking service level
issues
❑Task and finish is creeping up the agenda as a potential risk
❑Growth in the NMW and Living Wage creating tensions
❑More professional roles filled by women means greater parity in those
areas
❑Perceptions that some operational level staff are underpaid compared to
market rates external to the council.

14. Q7: Do you currently have any live equal pay claims against your authority /
service?

15. Q8: Has the COVID pandemic had an impact on staff recruitment and or
retention? For example, have more staff opted for early retirement?

16. Q9: What do you believe to be the main reason for people leaving your
council / service? Note this year we have introduced a new option that relates to changes in in-work
benefits and restrictions on working hours for example Universal Credit payments.

17. Comments on the main reasons for people leaving your council / service?
“Pay is main barrier to recruitment and potentially to retention (dependant on whether
main earner or not). Parity across local / region / authorities would improve things but
only if comparable to private sector. Package, even pension benefits are not perceived
to be particularly advantageous.”
“We have lost a number of people to Env Health consultancy work and to national
regulatory bodies, from both EH and TS. Those who have joined OPSS indicate they are
enjoying the experience away from the pressures of local government (financial, political
and public expectation,) but a few have returned, mainly in agency roles where they can
be well paid but without the pressures associated.”

18. Q10: Thinking about staff morale what best describes your current
workforce?

19. Q11: Thinking about staff physical wellbeing how would you describe your
workforce?

20. Q12: Thinking about mental wellbeing how would you describe your
workforce?

21. Comments on physical and mental wellbeing issues…
“There is clearly an epidemic of mental health issues, job satisfaction,
social media, family work life balance, expectations……”
“Delays in the NHS is impacting on people returning to work – few mental
health services for example”
Ageing workforce, therefore more likely to suffer ill-health issues, slower to recover..

22. Q13: Which of the following presents the biggest risks to recruiting and
retaining your workforce
Near to 90% (high/medium risk)
due to ageing workforce
78% Pay issues (high/medium)
83% Competition from other
sectors (high/medium)
73% Not an attractive career
choice (medium/high)

23. Q14: Which roles are experiencing the most challenges in terms of
recruitment and retention? Please rank highest with the greatest challenges
to low with the least challenges.
Just under 44% high/medium for
senior managers compared to 96%
on frontline supervisors /
managers
Near to 71% high risk in frontline
services –just over 8% report low risk
here.
Over 56% risk with middle managers

24. Q15: Thinking about the last year how do you view recruitment and retention
issues in your authority

25. Q16: Thinking about the pandemic ways of working what best describes your
post-pandemic working practices?

26. Post-pandemic working practices…remains a polarising issue….
“Home working on the 'staff' side has led to resentment by the
frontline staff who do not have the option. Due to the reduction
of productivity and availability of those working from home, the
frontline staff are picking up the slack leading to increased
workload.”
“Bereavement services can’t work from home!”
“Hybrid / home working means I get more done”

27. Q17: Do your post-pandemic working arrangements enjoy political support
from local councillors?

28. Q18: Do you have skills shortages?

29. Q19: Thinking about climate change and green skills do you believe you have
skills to meet future service needs?

30. Q20: Have you recruited any of the following?

31. Skills and green skills ………comments
❑ Need councillors to resource more / fund more
❑ Considering engaging sociologists / behaviour change /
engagement specialists
❑ Biodiversity shortages in people with the right skills
❑ Graduates with sustainability degrees
❑ May not yet know what is needed.

32. Final thoughts ………..

33. www.apse.org.uk

34. www.apse.org.uk
Contact details
Mo Baines, Chief Executive, APSE,
Visiting Professor Staffordshire
University
Email: mbaines@apse.org.uk
Association for Public Service Excellence
3rd floor, Trafford House, Chester Road,
Old Trafford, Manchester M32 0RS.
telephone: 0161 772 1810
web:www.apse.org.uk